146 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



or banks, or any suitable hollow ; made of seaweed and 

 lined with down plucked from the breast of the bird; 

 additional down is added as incubation proceeds, and 

 the quantity is often so great as to conceal the eggs 

 entirely. Eggs: to 10, greenish-drab. 



Distribution. — Northeastern North America ; breeds 

 from Ellesmere Land and Greenland south to north- 

 western Hudson Bay and southern Ungava ; winters in 

 southern Greenland, south rarely to Maine and Mass- 

 achusetts. 



The Northern Eider is a North American race 

 of the common Eider of Europe and is almost 

 identical with it. It nests on islands off the 

 northern coast of Labrador. 



This bird furnishes much of the eider-down 

 that is gathered bv the Greenlanders, and it is 



not improbable that it was one of the species 

 sought by the feather hunters on the coast of 

 Labrador in the eighteenth century. 



Edward Howe Forbush, in Game 



Birds, lVild-Fo2i.'l and Shore 



Birds. 



EIDER 

 Somateria dresseri Sharpe 



A. 0. U. Xumber 1 60 See Color Plate 19 



Other Names. — American Eider; Common Eider; 

 Eider Duck; Dresser's Eider; Drake (male); Sea 

 Duck (female) ; Black and White Coot (male) ; Isle of 

 Shoals Duck ; Squam Duck ; Wamp ; Canvas-back. 



Description. — Length. 24 inches. This Eider differs 

 from the Northern Eider in shape of bill ; in latter 

 base of bill extends along each side of forehead 

 between the narrow pointed extension of crown feathers, 

 this lateral extension being very narrow and ending in a 

 point, whereas in the Eider the processes are more than 

 twice as broad with obtuse rounded ends ; the sides of 

 head are more extensively greenish but otherwise the 

 coloration is similar. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: On the ground, in grass, in 

 crevices between rocks, or in any sheltered locality; 

 made of moss, seaweed, and lichens and lined with gray 

 down from breast of the bird, the lining being added 

 gradually during the month of incubation. Eggs: 6 to 

 10, usually 6, plain dull greenish-drab. 



Distribution. — Northeastern North Ainerica ; breeds 

 from southern Ungava and Newfoundland, on the 

 southern half of Hudson Bay to southeastern Maine; 

 winters from Newfoundland and Gulf of St. Lawrence 

 south on Atlantic Coast to Massachusetts, rarely to 

 Virginia, and in interior rarely to Colorado, Iowa, Wis- 

 consin, Ohio, and western New York. 



Eiders are native to both Europe and America 

 but the European and Xorthern Eiders differ 

 from the American in the shape of the processes 

 of the bill, which extend upward and backward 

 toward the eyes. These maxilte are less attenu- 

 ated and more rounded at the ends in the Ameri- 

 can species than in the European and the North- 

 ern. This is one of the famous species that are 

 responsible for the greater part of the eider- 

 down of commerce. The female plucks from 

 her own breast the down to line her nest and, 

 as is the case with other species, she felts this 

 down into a blanket or mantle which not only 

 lines the nest but extends up so that she can 

 cover the eggs with a flap or coverlet of the 

 same warm substance. In Iceland, Norway, and 

 some other parts of Europe the down is con- 

 sidered so valuable that the birds are conserved, 



tended, and protected, so that they become almost 

 as tame as domesticated fowls. Nesting places 

 are made for them in the turf or among the 

 stones, and some of them even nest on the sod 

 roofs of the houses, where sods are removed or 

 arranged for their accommodation. In some 

 places the nests are so numerous that it is im- 

 possible to step among them without endanger- 

 ing the sitting birds. Some birds become so tame 

 while on the nest as to allow the inhabitants to 

 stroke their feathers. When the first downy 

 lining and the eggs are removed from the nest 

 by the down gatherers, the female plucks her 

 breast again, renews the lining, and lays more 

 eggs. If her treasures are removed a second time, 

 it is said that the male denudes his breast for a 

 third lining. The down and eggs taken are not 

 sufficient to interfere with the breeding of the 



